Easter celebrations: mix of Christian and pagan traditions

Tens of thousands of believers attended Easter mass celebrated in Catholic and Protestant churches around the country. Cardinal Miloslav Vlk, who is due to retire next week as head of the Czech Catholic Church, celebrated the main Easter mass at Prague’s St. Vitus Cathedral on Sunday. His successor, the new Archbishop of Prague Dominik Duka took leave of his congregation in Hradec Králove where he has served as bishop of the Hradec Králove Diocese since 1998. He was appointed the 36th Archbishop of Prague in February of this year.

Easter Monday is a public holiday in the Czech Republic, though unlike Sunday’s church celebrations, it is linked to pagan traditions celebrating the arrival of spring and the birth of new life.